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| Island of Crete, Greece |
In the middle of the Agean Sea there is an island that's held hidden treasures for thousands of years. Just out of reach of the sapphire waves that lick its shores, secrets are buried. A time long forgotten lies waiting to be discovered. Along the rugged hills and fertile valleys of this island a dusty path curves through olive trees. A mule plods along the path in the heat of the morning sun. The burden it carries is not olive oil or wine, but a lady. Her face is shaded by the wide brim of her hat. Her petticoats sway with each step of the mule. She has come here to uncover the secrets of this island. She notices every feature of the passing landscape. A lifetime of preparation and a bit of luck would lead Harriet Boyd Hawes to the discovery of a lifetime.
Harriet spent her formative years preparing for a career in a field that was not yet open to women. Her mother died when she was an infant. She grew up in a house with three brothers and shadowed her father as he went about his work as an archaeologist. She was accustomed to holding her own in a man's world. She graduated with a degree in classics and began teaching. When her father died in 1895, she decided to follow her inquisitive mind to Europe.  |
| Harriet Boyd Hawes Photo by: http://www.proarchaeologia.org/OnlinePaper/EHAegypt/HaBoHawe.gif |
She must have felt right at home as the first and only woman at the American School of Classic Studies in Athens, Greece. The school was not prepared for a woman with an inquiring mind and an explorer's spirit. These traits would normally be dampened in a young girl growing up in Boston in the late 1800's. The school did not permit her to take part in any excavations and instead encouraged her to become the school's librarian. These duties were deemed more suitable for a woman. This inspired Harriet to take her fellowship money and lead her own excavation.
Harriet had her sights set on the newly opened lands of the island of Crete. This island was filled with antiquities that had been untouched for thousands of years. When she arrived in the spring of 1900, archaeologists had just begun unearthing artifacts. Harriet was ready to discover some of her own. Her first order of business was to gather information from the archaeologists who had already started working. She visited Knossos where a palace was being uncovered. She visited the head archaeologist, Arthur Evans, to discuss possible sites to explore. While they talked, a throne room was discovered within the palace. Eager to give his full attention to the excavation at hand, Evans suggested that Harriet look for a site in an inaccessible mountain area of eastern Crete called Kavousi. Somewhere far away from his dig, and out of his way.
"I had visited most of the important excavations in Greece, but it is one thing to go after the deed is done, Baedecker or archaeological journal in hand, studying and verifying plans and statements made by others it is quite another thing to start out to find for oneself a place to dig," Harriet wrote in her journal as she left Knossos. She had gathered a team, including an American botanist, Miss Patten; a Greek guide, Aristides; along with his mother and a multeer. They carried a few meager supplies such as linens, notebooks, small digging tools and baskets and a lot of luck. The kind of luck that the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote about, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
As they travelled, the group passed homes left in burned ruins. Deserted two years earlier during the revolution that won Crete its independence from Turkey. Realizing the need to be sensitive and careful in their travels, Aristides devised a plan to pave the way for Harriet's arrival in each village. He began by wearing the national Greek costume. This patriotic garment was worn by the heroes of the revolution of 1821. It had only been seen on Crete in historic plays depicting important men. It was a symbol of Greek pride. Aristides then went ahead of the group to each village and shared coffee and stories with the men. He spoke admiringly of the great archaeologist from America who would be arriving. Harriet confessed that "by the time we arrived, an altogether exaggerated opinion of our importance had spread throughout the village."
The villagers welcomed Harriet and her team with open arms. Harriet conversed with the village women in their own language and earned their respect. The group was invited to stay in the villager's homes and were offered the warmest hospitality. After 200 years of Turkish occupation, these newly independent Cretan citizens were eager for the world to discover that before the rise and fall of Rome, before classical Greece, there existed in Crete an advanced civilization of philosophers, artists, musicians and craftsmen. The people hoped that the arrival of such an important archaeologist would bring new wealth and prosperity to their villages. They also realized with her arrival, that Crete was now a safe and orderly place, where a lady could travel the countryside without fear. They went out into their fields and gathered small artifacts for Harriet to use as clues to find where the treasures of their island might be hidden.
The excavations in Kavousi were not what Harriet had hoped. The site was in the mountains and the wind was fierce. Harriet excavated for three weeks without finding any evidence of the artifacts Evans had told her about. She found pottery shards that held the promise of an ancient wealthy village somewhere nearby, but she was out of time. She took her finds back to America with her where she was awarded funding to return to Crete and continue her exploration.
In 1901, Harriet was back in Crete with her clever guide Aristides and a new team. She planned to excavate Kavousi further when torrential rains ruined her plans. She was forced inside where she talked and listened to the stories of the villagers. Word spread that she was looking for a wealthy settlement she believed was along the coastline nearby. A neighboring villager heard the news and led her to a place he knew of that fit the description. The place was named Gournia. Harriet could see some of the walls of the settlement exposed and hoped this was the place she had been searching for. She had three days to excavate. With the help of a team of villagers, she found enough artifacts to send a cablegram back to the American Exploration Society who funded her expedition that read, "Discovered Gournia, Mycenean site, street, houses, pottery, bronzes, stone jars."
She returned the next two summers with Mr. Seager, a pottery expert and Miss Moffat, an artist who would record their findings. Harriet scoured the hillsides and cliffs to search for artifacts that would set the chronology of the city. Even though she detested the dirty, difficult work of crawling into the dark cramped spaces, she insisted on doing the work herself. In the excavations of the city, she uncovered 36 houses, paved streets, and a small palace complete with baths, courtyards and an alter room. Harriet had discovered the first Minoan village ever to be excavated.
In 1904, her classmate Edith Hall, joined Harriet in Gournia. Edith admired Harriet's spirit and revelled in the freedom of their mission. "It was great sport galloping off at 6:00 am with a measuring stick, a bag full of finds and a notebook and to have the responsibility of telling the men where to dig," Edith wrote in her journal that year. The excavation of the site was extensive, requiring 100 men. Harriet would be the first woman ever to direct an excavation of this scale in Greece. The diminutive Miss Boyd oversaw this small army while sharing the work and long travels by mule to the nearest village for food and shelter.
Harriet's discovery was breathtaking. The Bronze Age city of Gournia, overlooking the Bay of Mirabello. Paved streets and foundations with stone stairways indicating two-story dwellings surrounding a central courtyard and a palace at the heart of the city. A city that was the gateway between Egypt and Europe's trade routes. A peaceful place of commerce and artistry. Two of her most exciting finds were a ceremonial bulls head and an octopus stirrup vase. Artifacts similar to these are now common markers of the Minoan civilization in excavations throughout the island. Her discovery contributed a wealth of knowledge which revealed to the world the treasures of this golden age of Crete.
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| Gournia Photo by: http://www.travel-to-crete.com/page.php?page_id=215 |
She returned the next two summers with Mr. Seager, a pottery expert and Miss Moffat, an artist who would record their findings. Harriet scoured the hillsides and cliffs to search for artifacts that would set the chronology of the city. Even though she detested the dirty, difficult work of crawling into the dark cramped spaces, she insisted on doing the work herself. In the excavations of the city, she uncovered 36 houses, paved streets, and a small palace complete with baths, courtyards and an alter room. Harriet had discovered the first Minoan village ever to be excavated.
In 1904, her classmate Edith Hall, joined Harriet in Gournia. Edith admired Harriet's spirit and revelled in the freedom of their mission. "It was great sport galloping off at 6:00 am with a measuring stick, a bag full of finds and a notebook and to have the responsibility of telling the men where to dig," Edith wrote in her journal that year. The excavation of the site was extensive, requiring 100 men. Harriet would be the first woman ever to direct an excavation of this scale in Greece. The diminutive Miss Boyd oversaw this small army while sharing the work and long travels by mule to the nearest village for food and shelter.
Harriet's discovery was breathtaking. The Bronze Age city of Gournia, overlooking the Bay of Mirabello. Paved streets and foundations with stone stairways indicating two-story dwellings surrounding a central courtyard and a palace at the heart of the city. A city that was the gateway between Egypt and Europe's trade routes. A peaceful place of commerce and artistry. Two of her most exciting finds were a ceremonial bulls head and an octopus stirrup vase. Artifacts similar to these are now common markers of the Minoan civilization in excavations throughout the island. Her discovery contributed a wealth of knowledge which revealed to the world the treasures of this golden age of Crete.
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| Minoan Octopus vase. Photo by:
(All photos by author unless noted)
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